RALEIGH, N.C. – Redshirt-senior Michael Macchiavello was named the 2018 ACC Wrestler of the Year, while Wolfpack head coach Pat Popolizio was named the 2018 ACC Coach of the Year the league announced on Wednesday. The three awards (including Freshman of the Year) were determined by a vote of the ACC’s six wrestling head coaches.
Macchiavello, from Monroe, N.C., capped an outstanding senior season by winning the national championship at 197 pounds. Macchiavello finished the year with a 22-3 record, and became only the second North Carolina native to win a national title. He defeated Virginia Tech’s Jared Haught, 3-1, in the NCAA Championship finals to claim the title with a takedown in the final 15 seconds.